Carbonic Anhydrase 5 Regulates Acid-Base Homeostasis
in Zebrafish
Ruben Postel, Arnoud Sonnenberg*
Division of Cell Biology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract
The regulation of the acid-base balance in cells is essential for proper cellular homeostasis. Disturbed acid-base balance directly affects cellular physiology, which often results in various pathological conditions. In every living organism, the protein family of carbonic anhydrases regulate a broad variety of homeostatic processes. Here we describe the identification, mapping and cloning of a zebrafishcarbonic anhydrase 5(ca5) mutation,collapse of fins(cof), which causes initially a collapse of the medial fins followed by necrosis and rapid degeneration of the embryo. These phenotypical characteristics can be mimicked in wild-type embryos by acetazolamide treatment, suggesting that CA5 activity in zebrafish is essential for a proper development. In addition we show that CA5 regulates acid-base balance during embryonic development, since lowering the pH can compensate for the loss of CA5 activity. Identification of selective modulators of CA5 activity could have a major impact on the development of new therapeutics involved in the treatment of a variety of disorders.
Citation: Postel R, Sonnenberg A (2012) Carbonic Anhydrase 5 Regulates Acid-Base Homeostasis in Zebrafish. PLoS ONE 7(6): e39881. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0039881
Editor:Wael El-Rifai, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, United States of America ReceivedFebruary 17, 2012;AcceptedMay 28, 2012;PublishedJune 22, 2012
Copyright:ß2012 Postel, Sonnenberg. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding:This research was supported by a grant from the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association (UK). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests:The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: a.sonnenberg@nki.nl
Introduction
Maintaining proper homeostasis is essential for every living organism. Homeostatic imbalance directly affects cellular metab-olism, which eventually leads to physiological defects and pathologic conditions. Carbonic anhydrases (CA) are zinc metalloenzymes that are present in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. They catalyze the reversible dehydration/hydration reaction of carbon dioxide (CO2 + H2O « HCO32+ H
+
) [1,2]. CAs are involved in many physiological processes such as transport of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate between tissues, acid-base balance and biosynthetic reactions (glucogenesis, lipogenesis and ureagen-esis) [3]. CAs are also important therapeutic targets, because of their involvement in various pathological conditions, such as glaucoma, obesity, some infectious diseases, cancer, epilepsy and osteoporosis [4] Therefore, many CA inhibitors and activators have been developed in order to treat these disorders [4]. Of the five different classes of CAs (a-eCA), vertebrates only express proteins of the a-CA class, which comprises 16 members that differ in their kinetic properties, tissue distribution, subcellular localization and their susceptibility to inhibitors [2,4–12]. Whereas most CA isoforms are localized in the cytosol or associate with the plasma membrane, carbonic anhydrase 5 (CA5) is the only mitochondrial a-CA [13]. In mammals CA5 is encoded by two genes,CA5AandCA5Band whereas CA5A is expressed only in the liver, CA5B is widely expressed in many tissues [14]. Here we describe the mapping, cloning and characterization of a ca5 mutant zebrafish (collapse of fins,cof) and show that CA5 is involved in regulating acid-base balance during embryonic development in zebrafish.
Methods
Zebrafish strains and Forward genetic screening
Adult fish were raised and maintained under standard laboratory conditions. Fish experiments were performed in accordance with institutional guidelines and as approved by the Animal Experimentation Committee of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. The cof mutant was identified during a forward genetic screen performed at the Hubrecht Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands. N-Ethyl-N-nitroso-ureum (ENU) mutagenesis was performed as previously described for the creation of the Hubrecht Institute target selected mutagenesis library [15]. F1 progeny of mutagenised male fish were outcrossed to wild-type fish in order to produce approximately 300 F2 families, which were then intercrossed. F3 progeny were screened for epidermal integrity defects at 2–3 dpf. Meiotic mapping of the collapse of fins mutation was performed using standard simple sequence length polymorphisms (SSLP). SSLP primer sequences can be found on www.ensembl.org. Genotyping PCR and subsequent sequencing of theca5T839Amutation on finclip DNA or DNA of single embryos was performed with the following primers: F: 5 -cggacagcaagacatctg-39and R: 59 -ttgtggatacacatccc-catag-39.
Zebrafish embryo culturing
Embryos were raised in egg medium (60mg/ml sea salt) pH 7. After 24 hpf dechorionated embryos were collected and placed in agarose-coated culture dishes with egg medium or 1x Danieau’s medium (58 mM NaCl, 0.7 mM KCl, 0.4 mM MgSO4, 0.6 mM
Acetazolamide treatment
Acetazolamide (Sigma) was dissolved in DMSO to a concentra-tion of 0.5 M and diluted to a working concentraconcentra-tion of 2.5 mM and 5 mM in egg- or Danieau’s medium. Control embryos were treated with the same amount of DMSO solvent.
In situhybridisation, cDNA constructs and RNA synthesis
Whole mount in situ hybridization (ISH) was performed as described previously [16]. Embryos for ISH were fixed with 4% PFA/PBS and stored in 100% methanol. After ISH, embryos were cleared in methanol and mounted in benzylbenzoate/benzylalco-hol (2:1) before images were taken. The following primers were used to produce theca5cDNA fragment: F: 59 -tgcatccaatgtggcag-gag-39; R: 59-ttgtgtctgactgcaggcaagg-39 and the insulin cDNA
fragment: F: 59-ttggtcgtgtccagtgtaag-39; R: 59 -tgcctctcttccttatcagc-39. Fragments were cloned into the pCRII-TOPO vector (Invitrogen) and antisense dig-labelled probes were synthesised according to standard protocols. Full-length zebrafishca5cDNA (MGC:171653; IMAGE:7448163) was derived by PCR on cDNA with the primers: F: 59-gcgaattcaccatggtcacactgacagccat-39and R: 59-gcctcgagttattccttagaggggg-39and cloned into the pCS2+vector with EcoR1/Xho1. RNA was synthesised in vitro by using the SP6 mMessage mMachine kit (Ambion). Theca5T839Amutation was introduced using the QuickChange kit (Stratagene).
Figure 1. Characterization, mapping and cloning of thecofmutant.(A–D) Phenotypical comparison of wild-type andcofmutant embryos at 2 dpf (A, B) and 3 dpf (C, D). Asterisks mark the collapse of the medial fins in thecofmutant. (E) Summary of the linkage analysis and mapping of the
coflocus at chromosome 25. The arrows mark the direction of the mutation. Red lines indicate the various transcripts in the genomic region. (F) Sequence chromatograms of wild-type andcofmutant cDNA. The corresponding amino acid residues are indicated below. (G) CA5 protein sequence alignment of zebrafish and human and other members of the human CA protein family. Arrow marks residue M280 that is substituted to a lysine in
cofmutant embryos. (H) Detection ofca5mRNA in wild-type embryos at 24, 48 and 72 hpf byin situhybridization. mRNA expression ofinsulinat 24 hpf marks the position of pancreaticb-cells. Upper panel shows dorsal view and lower panels lateral view. White arrowheads mark the expression in the lens and the pancreaticb-cells.
Results
A missense mutation in zebrafishcarbonic anhydrase 5 leads to collapse of the medial fins, heart failure and rapid degeneration of the zebrafish embryo
From a forward genetic screen in zebrafish we derived a mutant allele, collapse of fins (cof) that is characterized by defects of epidermal integrity and collapse of the medial fins at 2 days post-fertilization (dpf) (Figure 1A, B). During later stages of de-velopment, cardiac failure with edema and necrosis of the yolk-sac can be observed (Figure 1C, D), eventually leading to the rapid degeneration of the complete embryo at 4 dpf. The cof mutant phenotype is not fully penetrant, only 19% (instead of 25%) of the embryos can be phenotypically identified as a mutant in a batch of cofembryos (see Table 1). Meiotic mapping placed thecofallele on chromosome 25 between markers G39307 and z68140 (Figure 1E). Sequencing the open reading frames of the genes within the corresponding genomic interval revealed a T839A mutation in the coding region of the ca5 gene (Figure 1F). ca5 encodes for the zebrafish orthologue of CA5. Theca5T839A
mutation results in an amino acid substitution of residue M280 to a lysine (Figure 1F). CA5 protein comparison analyses show that M280 is highly conserved across species and other members of the CA protein family (Figure 1G). The zebrafish genome contains only oneca5 gene and comparison of the amino acid sequences reveals 31% identity between zfCA5 and huCA5A, and 40% between zfCA5 and huCA5B. In order to study theca5mRNA expression, whole mountin situhybridization was performed on wild-type embryos at various stages of development. This revealed ca5 mRNA expression in the lens and in a specific part of the embryo that resembles the developing pancreas at 24 hpf (Figure 1H). Previous studies have identified human CA5B in the insulin-producing b-cells of the pancreas [17]. To verify the mRNA expression ofca5in the pancreatic b-cells in zebrafish, we compared ca5expression with the expression ofinsulin,a marker for the pancreaticb-cells at 24 hpf. Indeedca5mRNA is localized at the same position as the insulin expressing cells (Figure 1H). During later stages of
development,ca5remains expressed in the pancreas (Figure 1H). The expression of insulin mRNA in the ca5cof mutants was indistinguishable from that in wild-type embryos (Figure 1H), suggesting thatb-cell development is not impaired inca5cofmutants during development. This was confirmed by determining the level ofinsulinmRNA expression by PCR on cDNA of wild-type sibling and ca5cof mutant embryos at 60 hpf (Figure 1H). Although we observed a clear morphological defect in the medial fins of the ca5cof mutants, ca5 expression could not be detected in the fin epidermis byin situhybridisation.
Expression of CA5 rescues theca5cofmutant phenotype and acetazolamide treatment in wild-type embryos phenocopies theca5cofmutation
To examine whether the ca5T839A mutation in ca5cof mutant embryos causes the ca5cof
mutant phenotype, we restored CA5 expression by injecting the full-length zebrafishca5RNA. Injecting 100 pgca5RNA rescued theca5cofmutant phenotype completely, whereas it was not rescued after the injection of 100 pg mutant ca5T839ARNA (Figure 2A-F and Table 1).
In order to determine whether theca5M280Ksubstitution results in a reduced enzymatic activity of the CA5 protein we treated dechorionated wild-type embryos at 24 hpf with acetazolamide (AZA), a general CA inhibitor. Treatment with 5 mM AZA generated essentially a phenocopy of the ca5cof mutant fish including collapse of the medial fins, cardiac failure and necrosis of the yolk (Figure 2I-L and Table 1), ultimately leading to degeneration of the embryo. We verified the capacity of AZA to inhibit CA5 enzymatic activity by performing synergistic in-teraction experiments inca5cof heterozygous sibling embryos. We treated wild-type embryos and a batch of cof embryos with suboptimal concentrations of AZA. The morphology of wild-type embryos treated with 2.5 mM AZA was not altered (Figure 2M, N and Table 1), however in thecofbatch of embryos around 66% of the embryos showed the ca5cof mutant phenotype (Table 1). Sequencing revealed that a suboptimal dosage of AZA could induce the cof mutant phenotype in heterozygous embryos
Table 1.Quantification of the injection experiments and the various treatments.
Phenotype (at 3 dpf) % wild-type %cofmutant
cofbatch of embryos (n = 65) 81 19
100 pg full-lengthca5RNA (n = 98) 99 1
100 pgca5T839ARNA (n = 59) 83 17
untreated wild-type embryos (n = 81) 100 0
wild-type embryos treated with 5 mM AZA (n = 73) 10 90
wild-type embryos treated with 2.5 mM AZA (n = 65) 99 1
cofbatch of embryos treated with 2.5 mM AZA (n = 58) 34 66
wild-type embryos raised at pH 5 (n = 67) 100 0
wild-type embryos raised at pH 7.6 (n = 67) 100 0
wild-type embryos raised at pH 10 (n = 67) 100 0
wild-type embryos+5mM AZA in pH 5 medium (n = 75) 77 23
wild-type embryos+5mM AZA in pH 7.6 medium (n = 84) 16 84
wild-type embryos+5mM AZA in pH 10 medium (n = 76) 4 96
cofbatch of embryos in pH 5 medium (n = 81) 98 2
cofbatch of embryos in pH 7.6 medium (n = 77) 82 18
cofbatch of embryos in pH 10 medium (n = 68) 76 24
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039881.t001
(Figure 2O, P and Table 1), whereas all homozygous wild-type sibling embryos were not affected. All this shows that inhibition of CA5 activity by AZA treatment during embryonic development can mimic the ca5cof mutant phenotype. Thus the ca5T839A missense mutation results in a severe reduction or loss of CA5 activity that initially leads to a collapse of the medial fins, followed by complete degeneration of the embryo.
Low pH reduces the effects of acetazolamide treatment in wild-type embryos and rescues theca5cofmutant phenotype
Carbonic anhydrases are also involved in the regulation of acid-base balance, also in fish [18]. Therefore we examined the effect of altered pH levels on the collapse of the medial fins in AZA-treated wild-type embryos and ca5cof mutant embryos. First, wild-type embryos were raised from 24 hpf onwards in Danieau’s medium of pH 5, pH 7.6 or pH 10, containing 5 mM AZA. These experi-ments show that wild-type embryos are less susceptible to AZA,
when cultured in pH 5 medium, compared to embryos cultured in pH 7.6 or pH 10 medium (Figure 3A-L). Furthermore, theca5cof mutant phenotype can be rescued by raising mutant embryos in Danieau’s medium of pH 5 (see Table1), suggesting that normally the increase in cellular pH during embryonic development is compensated by the activity of mitochondrial CA5 (Table 1). We could not observe any significant developmental defects when wild-type embryos were raised in medium of pH 5 or pH 10 (Table 1). All this shows that CA5 is involved in maintaining cellular acid-base balance during zebrafish embryonic develop-ment.
Discussion
We show that defective CA5 activity in zebrafish results in a disturbed cellular acid-base balance, which leads to the collapse of the medial fins, heart failure and eventually degeneration of the complete embryo. We show that AZA, a general CA inhibitor, can copy the phenotype caused by the ca5cof mutation in wild-type embryos, suggesting that the T839A mutation results in the loss of CA5 enzymatic activity.
Human mitochondrial CA5 activity has been shown to be markedly elevated when the pH increases [19]. Thus loss or a reduced of CA5 activity results in an increase in cellular pH, which eventually leads to defects in cellular homeostasis. This is in
Figure 2. Rescue of the ca5cof mutant and acetazolamide
treatment phenocopies thecofmutation in wild-type embryos.
(A, B)ca5cofmutant embryos, (C–F)ca5cofmutant embryos injected with 100 pg full-length wild-typeca5(C, D) or 100 pgca5T839Amutant RNA (E, F). (I–L) Wild-type embryos at 2 dpf (I–K) and 3 dpf (L) treated with 5 mM AZA. Treatment of wild-type andcofheterozygous embryos at 2 dpf with 2.5 mM AZA.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039881.g002
Figure 3. Low pH compensates for loss of carbonic anhydrase activity by acetazolamide treatment. (A–C) Untreated wild-type embryos, (D–L) wild-type embryos at 3 dpf treated in pH 5 (D–F), pH 7.6 (G–I), or pH 10 medium (J–L) with 5 mM AZA.
accordance with our results in zebrafish that show that lowering the pH of the embryo medium can compensate for the loss of CA5 activity. In addition, thecofmutation is not fully penetrant when cultured in egg medium of pH 7 (,19%), however an increase of the pH (pH 10) of the medium resulted in full penetrance of the mutation (,24%) (Table 1), again showing that regulating acid-base balance is the major function of CA5 during zebrafish development.
Although the initial phenotypical defect is observed in the medial fins,ca5mRNA expression could only be detected in the pancreaticb-cells at 2 and 3 dpf. Defective CA5 function in the pancreatic b-cells cannot explain the medial fin defects and the rapid degeneration ofca5cofmutants. First of all, the level ofinsulin mRNA in the mutant embryos is not altered, suggesting thatb-cell development is not impaired in ca5cof
mutants. In addition, zebrafish mutants that lack pancreaticb-cells do not develop the phenotypical characteristics that we observe in theca5cof mutant [20]. A plausible explanation for the severe medial fin defect and the rapid degeneration of theca5cofmutant would be that CA5 is expressed at low levels in the epidermis. The defective epidermal acid-base balance, severely affects the epidermal barrier function, which results in rapid necrosis and degeneration of the embryo, especially in an aquatic environment. In fish several of the CA isoforms have been implicated in regulating physiological pro-cesses of the skin. For example, in a subtype of ionocytes of the skin and gills cytoplasmic CA regulates ionic exchange and acid-base balance [21]. However, knockdown of these cytoplasmic CA isoforms did not result in obvious morphological defects [21]. Here we observe a rapid degeneration of the complete embryo upon defective CA5 function, revealing that CA5 fulfils a major role in the regulation of cellular epidermal homeostasis, during de-velopment in zebrafish.
Although we did not see any effect on pancreatic b-cell development, we cannot rule out that defective CA5 function affects insulin secretion or could affect pancreatic b-cell de-velopment during later stages of dede-velopment. Human CA5B is expressed in pancreatic b-cells and has been shown to provide
bicarbonate for the first step of gluconeogenesis. It is therefore implicated in insulin secretion [17,22]. Furthermore, inhibition of CA activity with AZA resulted in a strong inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion [17]. In the light of our findings, inhibition of insulin secretion in pancreatic b-cells after AZA treatment could be a secondary effect: defective acid-base balance causes impaired cellular homeostasis which leads to impaired insulin secretion.
Because CA5 is the only mitochondrial CA, it is an excellent pharmaceutical target. Currently many CA inhibitors and activators have been developed in order to treat a range of disorders [4]. Some of these compounds have been shown to inhibit or activate also the mitochondrial CA5 and are used in the clinic as anti-obesity or anti-epileptic drug [23–26]. However, pharmacological inhibitors that are selective for CA5 are currently not available.
In conclusion, in this study we report the identification of the first vertebratein vivomodel in which defective CA5 activity results in imbalanced cellular acid-base homeostasis. The fact that AZA treatment in wild-type embryos mimics the ca5cof
mutant phenotype shows that zebrafish can be used as an easy and inexpensive in vivo model for screening and validating the functionality of novel CA5 modulators as potential therapeutics for a variety of diseases.
Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. J. Bakkers, Dr. S. Schulte-Merker, S. Chocron and M. Witte for organizing the forward genetic mutagenesis screen at the Hubrecht Institute. We thank Rabab Charafeddine, Valentine Arendsen and Sanne van den Hout for technical assistance.
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: RP. Performed the experiments: RP. Analyzed the data: RP AS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: RP. Wrote the paper: RP AS.
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